This Is Us

This Is Us (album)

This Is Us isn’t Backstreet’s first album since their days on ?the boy-band A list. It’s not even their first since the departure of Kevin Richardson, who split prior to 2007’s snoozy Unbreakable. But the new disc does mark the band’s return after a decade to its old teen-pop sound, and considering these guys’ combined age, the result is surprisingly unembarrassing. Credit goes in large part to ? au courant producers such as T-Pain (”She’s a Dream”), RedOne (”Straight Through My Heart”), and Max Martin (”Bigger”), the group’s original Svengali. The strong vocals certainly don’t hurt ? either. B